Share this Page

Howe against wholesale changes

Date published: Saturday 2nd May 2015 5:00

The Cherries won 3-0 at Charlton, where Matt Ritchie scored twice either side of Harry Arter’s goal, and ended up being crowned winners of the Sky Bet Championship as Watford, this morning’s leaders, were held to a draw by Sheffield Wednesday.

Bournemouth are bankrolled by Russian businessman Maxim Demin and their newly-acquired top-flight status means they will have access to millions in TV revenue money as well.

But Howe has promised not to jettison the players who had performed so well, the majority of whom had played for him in League One just a couple of seasons ago.

“You can see from my track record that the guys who have performed so well for us this season will get an opportunity to perform at the next level,” he said.

“I don’t believe in wholesale changes in the close season, I don’t believe in not giving players a chance to show whether they are good enough.

“Ultimately they will have to take that opportunity but it was the same from League One to Championship – we stuck with the majority of the squad.

“Of course there will be subtle changes – there will be players coming in and players leaving – but the core group will remain the same.”

Watford were just seconds away from clinching the title but conceded an equaliser just as Ritchie was netting Bournemouth’s third.

“We are thankful for that bit of help but I do think we deserve it,” Howe added.

“In my opinion we have been the best team this season. We have led the division for the longest time and I think it is fitting reward for the players. Once again they were magnificent and they have been magnificent all season.”

Charlton manager Guy Luzon hailed Howe and his players, and was hopeful he could emulate them with a similar campaign at the Valley next season.

“The table doesn’t lie and in my view Bournemouth are truly the best team in this league,” he said.

“They play great football with a lot of quality and organisation. They deserve to be in the Premier League and we wish them success. I’m sure that if they continue in this way they will also have success in the Premier League.

“I will be honest, they played better than us and deserved to win this game. It was a good lesson for us on how we need to play football – how we need to play quickly, how we need to press the opponent.

“To do it next season first we will need to keep our key players and to add another five or six players in appropriate positions. That will be my target and we will see.”